Apparatus for conveying lead strip from driers to calenders in paper-making



Nov. 28. 1967 A. G. DEVLIN 3, 3

APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING LEAD STRIP FROM DHIERS TO CALENDERS IN PAPER--MAKING Filed Dec. 14, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ANDREW G. DEVLIN M'EW Nov. 28, 1967 A. G. DEVLIN APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING LEAD STRIP FROM DRIERS TO CALENDERS IN PAPER-MAKING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 14, i964 INVENTOR- ANJREW G. DEVLIN moaueve Patented Nov. 28, 1967 APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING LEAD STRIP FROM DRIERS T CALENDERS IN PAPER-MAKING Andrew G. Devlin, 981 Greendridge Crescent,

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Filed Dec. 14, 1964, Ser. No. 417,961 2 Claims. (Cl. 162286) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for conveying a lead strip from the drier of a paper making machine to the calenders thereof having an air pervious travelling belt which initially passes over a vacuum chest having a perforated top and then over an upwardly directed blast of air whereby the lead strip initially clings to the belt and then is lifted therefrom by the air blast.

breakage of the web or in starting the machine, the transfer of the web from the drier to the calenders has posed certain problems. In some instances, travelling ropes are arranged between the drum and the calenders into which a lead strip formed in the web is thrust and permitted to find its way into the calender rolls and, in some other instances, the web is quite often fed by hand into the calender rolls. In the first instance, it is usual to employ 3 air blasts to move a lead strip cut from the web into the calender rolls, a procedure which is quite often not effective and, in the second instance where the lead strip is fed by hand into the calenders, the danger to life and limb are ever present.

The purpose of this invention is to provide an apparatus by means of which the lead strip of the paper web may be accurately and positively fed into the calenders of a paper making machine and which is so constructed that the danger to the lifeand limb of the operator is reduced to minimal proportions.

The present invention comprises an air pervious traveling belt extending from the drier to the calenders, and

being arranged to receive the lead strip from the drier and to move it towards said calenders, means applying a is in full operation, the web passes directly from the driers to and through the calenders. The web extends as a shallow catenary therebetween and, due to its inherent tensile strength, requires no support. There are occasions, however, such as caused by breakage of the web or when operations are first initiated when a connection of the web between the drier and calenders must be established. Before this connection is made, the paper web which in many cases is over tweny feet in width, passes over the drier and downwardly therefrom into a waste bin. Established practice, to establish the connection of the web between the drier and calenders in the event of a breakage of the web, is to form a lead strip of approximately six inches in width at one side of the moving web and insert it by one means or another into the calenders. When the lead strip is established firmly in the calenders, it is then gradually widened, by known means, to the full width'of the web. It is to this means by which the lead strip is transferred from the drier into the calenders that the present invention is directed.

Referring now to the drawings and, specifically FIG- the numerals 10 and 12, respectively, and are, by reason of their known construction, shown in substantially diagrammatic representation. The drier 10 is shown mounted on a base 14, the latter being secured to a floor 16 in which an opening or slot 18 is formed to permit the paper web, in the event of breakage thereof, to pass downwardly therethrough and into a waste bin suitably provided.

vacuum at the undersurface of the belt to cause the lead strip to adhere thereto as the latter moves from the drier to the calenders, and means at the end of the transverse of the belt to remove the lead strip therefrom and passit into the first pass between the calenders.

' In the drawings which illustrate the embodiments of the invention, 7

FIGURE 1 is a view in elevation of the apparatus showing its disposition relative to the drier and calenders of a paper making machine,

FIGURE 2 is an isometric view of a fragmentary portion of the apparatus,

FIGURE 3 is another fragmentary isometric view of a portion of the apparatus at the drier end thereof, and

FIGURE 4 is a side view of the apparatus taken at the drier end thereof, showing the disposition of the lead strip thereon.

In the construction of a paper making machine, the drying drum or drier over which the paper web passes, is usually spaced some considerable distance away from the calenders in order to allow working space for the machine operators therebetween. When the paper making machine The calenders 12 are also shown as represented by a series of rolls 20 mounted on a frame 22 one above the other, the paper web normally passing from the top 24 of the drier into a first pass 26 in the calenders. Both the drier and calenders are driven by conventional means, not shown, and are provided with controls whereby the peripheral speed of each of them may be synchronized so that the tension on the Web, as indicated by the depth of the c'atenary it forms, may be properly adjusted.

The present invention which is concerned with the transfer of the lead strip formed, as hereinbefore men- 'tioned, from the drier to the calenders comprises an endless belt-type conveyor 28 which extends between the drier and calenders to carry the lead strip therebetween, and which is provided with means whereby the strip may be made to adhere thereto as it moves to the calenders and then be released from the conveyor to extend towards the first pass 26 so as to be caught therein and passed in the usual manner around the rolls 20 thereof. 7

The conveyor 28 comprises an endless belt 29 which extends between a pair of belt pulleys 30 and 31 mounted on shafts 32 and 33, respectively, the latter being secured for rotation between the opposite ends of a pair of spaced parallel support frames 34 and 35. Shaft 33 projects at one end 37 beyond the frame 35 and is provided with a small V pulley 38 which is driven by a V belt 39, the latter passing over another V pulley 40 which is secured concentrically to one of the calender rolls for rotation therewith. One of either of the V pulleys 38 or 40 is of the variable diameter type so that the linear speed of the belt may be synchronized with the peripheral speed of the calender rolls.

Also rotatably secured between the frames 34 and 35, are belt tighteners 42 which bear upwardly against the lower run 44 of the belt 29. Said belt tighteners are of known construction and will therefore not be described in detail.

The side frames 34 and 35 are connected as by welding to the vertical sides 46 and 47 of an elongated chest 48, the latter being located between the lower run 44 of the belt and its upper run 49 extending longitudinally of the conveyor from' a point adjacent pulley 31 to a point radjacent pulley 30, The chest has an upper wall 50 1oicated adjacent to and planarily parallel to the upper run 49 of the belt and said upper wall is perforated, the per- :forations therein taking the form of two rows of longiitudinally extending slots 52, the slots in each of the rows [being spaced longitudianlly apart and each of the slots fin ,each of the rows overlapping the space between the :slots in the other of said rows. This configuration of slots fis clearly shown in FIGURE 3 of the drawings. The chest -48 is also provided with a conduit 54 extending from the vertical side 47 and is connected by suitable air lines to :a vacuum pump 55.

Extending transversely across the conveyor and located :beneath the belt and between the chest 48 and pulley S31, is a perforated pipe 56 which is connected by suit- :able conduits, not shown, to an air pump, not shown, the perforations therein being arranged so that when air pres- :sure is applied to the pipe, the air blast issuing from the perfo'rati'ons will be directed in a direction upwardly :against the underside of the belt and forwardly towards :the calenders 12. The pipe 56 is held rigidly in place by lbrackets 57 extending therearound and is connected by .bolts or by welding to the side frames 34 and 35.

Secured to the side frame 35 and arranged so that it :may be extended transversely across and to be pressed downwardly upon the belt 29 over the perforated upper wall 50 of the chest 48 is a roller 59. This roller is rotat- :ably supported on internal bearings 61, of a construction well known, and extending axially outwardly from the bearing is a shaft 63 which is pivotally supported inter- :mediate of its length on a transverse bearing shaft 64, :the latter being non-rotatably secured between the upper ends '66 of a pair of standards 67, the lower ends 68 of which are welded to a bracket 70 which is secured to lth side frame 35. Also mounted on the bracket 76, is an :air piston and cylinder assembly 72, the piston of which :is linked to the outer end 74 of the-shaft 63. The piston :and cylinder assembly 72 is supplied through air conduits 75 with pressurized air and controlled by suitable valves, not shown, wherebythe piston may be actuated .to pivot the roller 59 about the bearing shafts 64 between :a position in which the roller is pressed downwardly \UPOH the belt and a position lifted upwardly therefrom.

Also secured to the conveyor is a lead strip cutter 78. 'Thecutter comprises a toothed knife 79 extending transwersely between a pair of rod-like supporting arms 81, the ends 82 of the arms 81: being rigidly secured to and .extending outwardly from said frames35 and 36 beyond pulley 30.

The belt 29, in accordance with the present invention, is made of an air porous-material preferably a woven -:-fabric, as shown in FIGURE 2, the wave being coarse iv :so that the spaces between the'warp and'weft thereof will iifree'ly permit the passage of air therethrough.

The conveyor is rigidly supported between the drier :and the calenders' 12 ona supporting framework 88 so athat the belt 29 as it' passes over pulley 30 lies inwardly of the vertical plane, shown in dashed lines and num- Zbered 90 in FIGURE 1, which would be formed by the 1 paper web if the latter depended vertically downwardly ffrom the periphery of the drier-10' or from a; doctor 91 if the drier is so provided. The conveyor is also inclined ".upwardly towards the drier' so that the upper run 49 of '.the belt extends twoards the first pass 26 between the :rolls 20 of the calenders. In this position, the conveyor f'f28lies below the normal path herein numbered 92 and shown in dotted lin'es in FIGURE 1, which is followed by the" paper web as it passes from the drier to the calenders.

4 In describing the operation of the machine it must first 'he. assumed that the paper web has been delivered as far 'as't'hela'st drier of the paper making machine and is vertically downwardly from the latter over doctor 4 t 91 and through the opening 18 in the floor 16 and into Waste.

A lead strip is formed, in a known manner, at an edge of the web lying above the conveyor. Due to the weight of the paper, the lead strip will pass over the upper run 49 of the belt and the end portion of the chest 48 adjacent pulley 30 and continue into the waste The belt 29 is then placed in operation and the roller 59 extended trans versely thereacross. Air pressure is supplied to pipe 56 and air exhausted from chest 48, The vacuum created in said chest results in the lead strip adhering to the moving belt so moving upwardly along the conveyor, and, the

portion of the lead strip now in the waste bin is automatically severed by the cutter 78.

The lead strip which is passed upwardly along the conveyor and under the roller 59 is lifted frornthe belt by the air blast issuing from .p'ipe 56 which extends it towards the first pass in the calender.

When the grip of the calender upon the lead strip is assured, roller 59 is released and vacuum in the chest 48 eliminated. The lead strip is then widened, in a known manner, to the full width of the web. Although particular reference has been hereinbefore made to the use of the conveyor in transferring the paper web issuing from the last drier of a paper making machine to the calenders, the use of the conveyor is not so limited.- The conveyor in accordance with the present invention may be employed in substantially all cases wherein it isdesired to transfer thin sheets of pliable materialfrom one location and another in a positive and controlled manner.

What I claim as my invention is; I J

1. Apparatus for transporting a lead strip ofpaper web from the drier of a paper making machine and feeding it into the first pass of the calenders of said machine, comprising an elongated frame, an air pervious endless belt moyably mounted on the frame and having its upper run travelling from the drier to the first pass of the calenders and being arranged to receive the lead strip from the drier, a vacuum chest having a perforated top extending longitudinally of and below and in slidable contact -with the upper run ofthe belt, means for evacuating air from the chest so as to apply a vacuum at the undersurface of the belt and thereby cause the lead strip to cling to the latter, air blast means beneath and extending transversely of the upper run of the belt at the calender end thereof for directing a blast of air upwardly therethrough so as to lift the lead strip therefrom and extend-the latter towards the first pass of the calenders, and an elongated idling roller arranged beside the belt adjacent the drier end thereof pivotally mounted for vertical pivotal movement between a position extending transverselypver the belt and lead strip so as to maintain the lead strip in engagement with the :belt whensaid leadstrip is;bei ng.movd to the c'alenders and a position clear of the lead strip to permit the latter to lift off the belt after it passes into the calenders. 4 v

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including. cutter means at the drier end of the upper runofthe belt for engaging and severing lead strip surplusage as the lead strip is moved towards the calenders, said cutter ;means comprising an elongated knife having a serrated cutting edge and a pair of supporting. arms extending from the drier end of the frames supporting the knife in a downwardly sloped attitude spaced outwardly of and extending transversely of the drier end of the upper run ofthe'belt.-

Keferences Cited UNITED ,STATES' PATENTS" 327,031 9/1885 Smith 271-24 1,369,124 2/1921 Pope l 162-255 2,529,184 9/1949 Pearson 22 -92 3,240,491 3/1966 Buccicone 2 71-74 S. LEON BASHORE, Primary Examiner, 

1. APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING A LEAD STRIP OF PAPER WEB FROM THE DRIER OF A PAPER MAKING MACHINE AND FEEDING IT INTO THE FIRST PASS OF THE CALENDERS OF SAID MACHINE, COMPRISING AN ELONGATED FRAME, AN AIR PERVIOUS ENDLESS BELT MOVABLEY MOUNTED ON THE FRAME AND HAVING ITS UPPER RUN TRAVELLING FROM THE DRIER TO THE FIRST PASS OF THE CALENDERS AND BEING ARRANGED TO RECIEVE THE LEAD STRIP FORM THE DRIER, A VACUUM CHEST HAVING A PERFORATED TOP EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF AND BELOW AND IN SLIDABLE CONTACT WITH THE UPPER RUN OF THE BELT, MEANS FOR EVACUATING AIR FROM THE CHEST SO AS TO APPLY A VACUUM AT THE UNDERSURFACE OF THE BELT AND THEREBY CAUSE THE LEAD STRIP TO CLING TO THE LATTER, AIR BLAST MEANS BENEATH AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE UPPER RUN OF THE BELT AT THE CALENDER END THEREOF FOR DIRECTING A BLAST OF AIR UPWARDLY THERETHROUGH SO AS TO LIFT THE LEAD STRIP THEREFROM AND EXTEND THE LATTER TOWARD THE FIRST PASS OF THE CALENDERS, AND AN ELONGATED IDLING ROLLER ARRANGED BESIDE THE BELT ADJACENT THE DRIER END THEREOF PIVOTALLY MOUNTED FOR VERTICAL PIVOTAL MOVEMENT BETWEEN A POSITION EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OVER THE BELT AND LEAD STRIP SO AS TO MAINTAIN THE LEAD STRIP IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE BELT WHEN SAID LEAD STRIP IS BEING MOVED TO THE CALANDERS AND A POSITION CLEAR OF THE LEAD STRIP TO PERMIT THE LATTER TO LIFT OFF THE BELT AFTER IT PASSES INTO THE CALENDERS. 